Quim Gutiérrez returns to filming in Catalan twenty years later: "I am enjoying it a lot"

BarcelonaQuim Gutiérrez began his acting career performing in Catalan and on TV3. Poblenou made him a familiar face and El cor de la ciutat further increased his popularity. From then on, his career moved to Madrid, and two decades have passed since the last time he acted in Catalan. Now, however, Gutiérrez is immersed in a new shoot that has allowed him to recover his mother tongue as a work tool: the actor is one of the protagonists of Pell de foca, the debut feature by Irene Moray, winner of a Gaudí and a Goya for the short film Suc de síndria. Gutiérrez has celebrated his return home by posting an image of a street in Barcelona on Instagram. "After twenty years I am filming again in Barcelona in Catalan and I am enjoying it a lot," says the text accompanying the photograph.

The actor's announcement has been received with joy by his followers, who quickly responded to the post with messages of affection. "Very good, Quim! Welcome home! We love you!", says one follower. "It's always a pleasure to see you, but in Catalan it's even more delightful", says another.

Pell de foca is a film with touches of magical realism that explores the violence and suffering of two former friends, Flora and Helga, from the point of view of care and sisterhood. Gutiérrez plays Gael, a character "who is talked about a lot but appears little". "He is not necessarily likable, but you don't quite know why. That's what I thought was cool. He is not a violent guy, he is not a guy you can label right away. That was interesting to me", explains Gutiérrez in an interview with 3Cat. In Pell de foca the actor shares the cast with Elena Martín and Clara Sans. The latter explained in a recent interview with ARA that she was especially excited to shoot a film in Catalan because, as in the case of Gutiérrez, much of her career is developing in Madrid and in Spanish.

Curiously, the character that Gutiérrez plays in Pell de foca bears the same name as the actor's youngest son, who turned 2 this October. The actor and his partner, the model Paula Willems, became parents for the first time in 2021 with the birth of Bru, their eldest son. Three years later they welcomed Gael, who was born the day after Willems' birthday. The family lives in the Sierra de Madrid.